Blunt asks for quick federal help for Southeast Missouri counties

Gov. Matt Blunt is asking the feds to call this week's flooding in 70 Missouri counties a "major disaster," and asking them to send financial assistance as soon as possible.

Blunt wrote a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency today asking the agency to expedite federal funds for flood-related expenses. In all 70 counties were part of Blunt's request, including Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Scott, Stoddard, Perry and other Southeast Missouri counties.

Levee breaches and overtopping became the the focus of area emergency operations today as the accumulated runoff from more than 12 inches of rain pushed its way downstream.

And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with other federal and state agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, have sent in people to help with the battle against the flood waters.

Hubble Creek went over its levee at Dutchtown Wednesday morning, prompting Cape Girardeau County emergency officials to call for an evacuation of the area.

Meanwhile locals and volunteers battled throughout the morning to strengthen levees with sandbags. On the Caney Basin levee in Scott County, it worked. The county sheriff's department said sandbagging stabilized that levee this afternoon.

However the Chaffee Nursing Center is being evacuated, an evacuation initiated by nursing home personnel.

In Allenville, workers were assisting residents to leave by boat. In all 70 people were taken out of Allenville, according to Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan.

Mike Niemeier, assistant coordinator of the Cape Girardeau County Emergency Operations Center, said the Little River Drainage District levee at Dutchtown was part of the Diversion Channel system.

"Hubble Creek flooding is overtopping the levee," he said.

However, officials say levees on the Diversion Channel itself are intact.

Zalma, Mo., near the Castor River, was evacuated overnight, the State Emergency Management Agency reported today.

A breach in a levee between Chaffee, Mo., and Oran, Mo., caused an evacuation of the Caney Creek basin area, said Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger.

The levee holds water in a large drainage ditch operated by the Little River Drainage District, Burger said.

Burger said volunteers had been out sandbagging the levee this morning, but it wasn't enough to hold back the rising water. Wednesday afternoon the effort stabilized the levee.

The Caney Basin area, the village of Perkins and other places in that vicinity were in danger of flooding, Burger said.

At the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, the National Weather Service recorded 12.14 inches of rain since the storm began after 1 a.m. Tuesday. At a rain gauge near Cape Girardeau City Hall, 9.13 inches of rain was recorded since 8 a.m. Tuesday, bringing the storm total for the city to 13.5 inches.

The Themis Street floodgate in the Cape Girardeau floodwall was closed early Wednesday morning as the Mississippi River continued to rise. At 9:40 a.m., the river level was 34.75 feet, up 7.8 feet in the previous 24 hours.

A prediction almost 24 hours old predicts the river will rise to 40 feet, the highest crest since 2002, but Main Street Levee District President Andy Juden said he's unsure about that number.

The river, he said, rose "way faster" than he anticipated. "Even in 1993 it didn't come up 6 feet in 24 hours," he said.

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau recorded its highest gauge reading ever when it crested at 48 feet on Aug. 8, 1993.

It will be 1 p.m. before a better prediction is available, Juden said. "It is hard to tell you have to see how much rain there was on the Missouri and Mississippi," he said.

The Broadway floodgate will be closed if the river reaches 39 feet.

Perry County, Jackson expect few problems today

Late Tuesday, Perry County rescue officials, including deputuies and firefighters from the East Perry County Fire Department coordinated a rescue of Don Hicks from his home on Apple Creek Lane near Apple Creek, Sheriff Gary Schaaf said.

The complicated rescue required firefighters to cross an inundated area near Highway 61, cross a rise on foot, find another boat to cross another flooded spot and wade through chest-deep water to reach Hicks's home, Schaaf said. The home is built on stilts and water had reached the top step.

"We were able to get Mr. Hicks out and his two puppies," Schaaf said. "We got him back to 61, and he was just happy to be out. His wife was waiting for him and she was just tickled."

Overnight, deputies and other crews responded to five incidents of motorists stuck in floodwaters over roads, Schaaf said.

Some roads remained under water in spots but the county was draining well and expects few problems today, Schaaf said.

There were no reports of damaged homes or other structures, said Jack Lakenan, emergency operations director for the county. "We dodged another bullet," he said. "We dodged the ice, and we dodged the snow, and now this."

In Jackson, the water had receded and few problems were reported, said Capt. Curt Sparks of the Jackson Fire Department. There were no reports of debris or other damage that he had received, he said.

Corps, National Guard, Coast Guard helping

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has sent in teams from its St. Louis district to assist with the efforts to minimize flood damage.

One team is in Valley Park, Mo., to assist with flooding problems on the Meramec River. Another team was sent to the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, across from Cape Girardeau, to asses the overtopping of the Miller Pond Drainage District Levee on Clear Creek. The levee was overtopped Tuesday night.

The Corps has also closed the Greenville Campground at Lake Wappapello.

The National Guard is in Marble Hill, checking the welfare of people, particularly the elderly, said, Susie Stonner with the State Emergency Management Agency.

After a request for help from the state emergency operations center, the U.S. Coast Guard activated its Disaster Assistance Response Team from Sector Upper Mississippi River, according to a new release from the Coast Guard.

Each team consists of three flat-bottomed boats known as flood punts, able to navigate quickly in shallow waters, and eight crewmen specially trained in flood response.

Coast Guard crews assisted Cape Girardeau County officers and Missouri Water Patrol throughout the day on Wednesday as they helped people in Dutchtown in voluntary evacautions.

Two of the response teams were sent to Piedmont, Mo., and Van Buren, Mo., to assist with local flood relief efforts.